I was up at 4:30 this morning actually feeling energetic. After the first coffee, of course. When I get home from the job I am beat, especially at the end of 4 BUSY days in a row. Within a couple of hours I am snoozing sitting at the table. Poor Karen. She spends the day alone taking care of the beasts and the mouthy bird, keeping our gardens in shape and often making some kind of evening meal. I limp upstairs from the garage, hug the beasts, throw a ‘Hi!’ at her and the bird, grab my heated bean bag to soothe the back, chat for a few minutes (mostly groaning), then off to bed. Not very good company at all. One more week working off my notice there, then possibly a couple of weeks training out of house, and I should be in better shape AND at home every day. Things are looking to improve!

While I was sitting here, enjoying my java and reading Facebook and Blogit, I threw some makings for French bread into the machine. I let it mix and do its first rise there, then take it out, knead it, and after the second rise it’s baked in the oven. I find it much nicer than loaves baked in the machine. We’re planning on visiting a friend later today – the lady who was in the hospital a short while ago with such swollen legs – and we’ll bring her some bread and a few other goodies. I chatted with her on Messenger yesterday and she’s depressed, so she’ll welcome our visit. Thunderstorms are predicted for this afternoon, but the same had been warned for yesterday and it completely missed us. Hoping the same will happen because, if not, the visit will need to be delayed. Mommy is too terrified; we can’t leave the poor pooch alone when it is storming and taking her with us is not a good idea. My friend takes in stray cats, has some adopted into good homes, and keeps some so there are always plenty of them around. Putting Mommy in a thunderstorm situation together with cats? Not a good idea!

And an unexpected and very welcome event yesterday! I received a text from another friend, asking when I would get home. ‘I have a surprise for you!’ it read. All afternoon I suffered from curiosity, and I did let him know as soon as I stepped in the door. Five minutes later he showed up, holding an envelope, and apologizing for the delay as he handed it to me. Wondering what he was going on about, I looked inside and found a substantial amount of cash. Huh?? He then reminded me how I had helped out a person maybe 5 years ago…and this envelope was found with my name on it when the person moved. It had been forgotten, not only be me apparently, and he was so sorry!! ‘I hope you’re not mad at me,’ he says. Are you kidding?? I wanted to hug the daylights out of him!!

So that was the end of my day folks, and I was SMILING!! You know I’m sharing it, and hoping your day will be great too!

LUV FROM THE BUSH IN QUEBEC

It’s done! I begin my new job on August 8^th! There will be approximately 2 weeks training at their office then the equipment will be set up at home so that I can work from here. Ask if I’m SMILING?

I received the call on Wednesday morning just as I was arriving at my present work location. When I heard the caller say ‘Welcome to the team’, I did a little jig right there in the parking lot! My notice was given verbally as soon as I walked into the store, then yesterday I handed in a formal written resignation, thanking them for the experience. My immediate supervisor came to mention her appreciation for the letter during the day; it seems written notice is not a usual occurrence. I was sincere – I really did enjoy the work and the people. If it wasn’t for the physical aspect (my age contributes to that) and the low salary, I would have been tempted to stay on.

But….new challenge, here I come!!

Our birthday party held in my son’s yard was a hit! The weather, the family, the friends, plenty of food and a cake decorated with HABS (Montreal Canadiens NHL team) insignia, and Mémère spending much of her time in the pool with the kids, grandkids and great grandkids…what more could a person want?

It’s a workday, so I’ll have to cut this short. Hopefully my blogging will be more regular in the future. At least the lack of having to commute should give me that extra time for writing.

Until then sharing this HUMONGOUS SMILE with y’all!!

LUV FROM THE BUSH IN QUEBEC

It’s a crazy time here! From work there are people on vacation, others who have resigned, and with this area full of lakes and cottages, summer tourist season is in full swing. It’s rare we are not very, very busy. I’m enjoying meeting all the new clients, most in great moods because of the weather…so many SMILES!!

The afternoon spent with my niece was perfect. Hugs, tears, laughter, reminiscing, then of course the farewell with promises to not wait so long before doing it again. Her new companion fit right in.

My second oldest Rugrat, who turned 14 in June, started his first job today. It’s in a chicken fast food resto, and I’m waiting to get news of how it went. The oldest already is working – well not right now because he has COVID – and Mémère is shaking her head, wondering how they got so old so quickly. (Not me, them!)

My friend from Detroit was here for 2 weeks. Unfortunately I didn’t get to see her as much as I would have liked what with my job. She’s leaving tomorrow so I visited for a couple of hours this afternoon. The beasts were happy when I arrived back home. They are no longer used to staying alone since Karen has moved downstairs, but she is away shopping for plants with her sister this weekend.

There are new things coming up too but I’m saving that news for later. Fingers crossed it will play out the way I hope!

Gotta go! Sending you all SMILES, wrapped in sunshine!

LUV FROM THE BUSH IN QUEBEC

Last night, in full busy time, I was asked if I would come in earlier and open this morning.

Well, DARN!

I did agreed to do it (already suspecting that it would be a long day, my insomnia being what it is) because I knew two of the younger co-workers were under the weather, both of them planning to re-test for Covid when they went home early. Yep – the monster has reared its head again in this province. Worried about the reaction from citizens, the health authorities are not demanding a return to masks, but they are ‘suggesting’ that each person take responsibility and wear them when in public or crowded places, frequent hand washing, and getting the 4^th vaccination.

Anyhow, when I got home after my shift, I had supper and headed for bed. Stomach pains woke me four hours later. There was no use attempting any more sleep so, much to the beasts’ delight, I got up, wrapped myself in a hot corn bag, and hoped it would disappear. That was already some hours ago and I’m still hoping….

A texto had arrived yesterday from Bird’s daughter, telling me she would be flying in from New Brunswick and wondering if we could get together. For sure!! We haven’t seen her since my brother’s funeral 11 years ago. During my break, with messages flying back and forth between the kids and me, it didn’t take us long to organize a family get together for Saturday, my only day off. We’ll meet at my son’s place in town. The weather is supposed to be nice, so it will be an outdoor event. He has a nice party yard, and there are far less mosquitoes and black flies than out here in the bush right now. I’m so looking forward to seeing her, and having her meet Little Flea! Yes – we will play it safe, although I doubt I can keep from hugging that lovely girl. We both admitted to shedding tears while discussing her arrival.

It’s that time again – for shower and to prepare the beasts and bird before I leave. Thunderstorms are once more predicted for this afternoon, but Karen knows how to deal with Mommy’s terrors, so I won’t medicate the pup just in case the weatherman is wrong (does that even happen??). I’ll be back into Blogit during the weekend to comment – I have read most of your posts this morning and enjoyed them as usual.

Sending you my SMILES – wishing you all a wonderful day!!

LUV FROM THE BUSH IN QUEBEC

It has been a crazy couple of weeks. Lots of things happening but, because I am mostly at work (vacation times, employee changes, etc.) and am not supposed to talk about what goes on there…well, it limits what I can write. I am seriously considering forgetting that rule; there is nothing detrimental to the company anyway, or maybe I should say, I would not disclose unflattering info.

First things first – the biopsy showed that the tumor in my son’s kidney was cancer, but the doctor is confident that he got it all. What they saw on his liver is believed to be scar tissue. He will be having scans and blood tests done every 3 months for control. He is recuperating well, and should return to work on July 3^rd.

Karen spent the weekend with her sister and brother-in-law, then we received a message on Monday night telling us her BIL is now in bed with Covid. UGH! So she’s staying away from me when she comes upstairs. We do have rapid tests in the cupboard, and will use them at first sign of any symptom.

My Little Flea is at day camp (she loves it) and with me working so often we haven’t been able to see each other. Finally her family came for a short visit last night – hugs, hugs, hugs!! Me first, then the beasts, and finally the mouthy bird, who very rudely squawked at the child. Poor Pistache is in her ‘loving mood’, spending much time rubbing herself on her favorite perch, so gets cranky during that period. I left it to ‘my son’ to explain what a ‘loving mood’ is to his daughter, LOL!

The ugly rash is disappearing, the allergy pills are actually a big help for my insomnia, and I’ve learned to deal with the back pain by using hot corn bags and daily Jacuzzi stints instead of taking massive amounts of pain killers. I console myself by remembering that Fiber Internet, allowing for stay-at-home and less physical work, is promised in this area by September.

Now I have to run to prepare, am doing the later shift today, but they are predicting thunderstorms for this afternoon so prepping Mommy, who is already starting to pace, is a must before I leave. Thankfully she trusts Karen, but her fear is real no matter who is here, so I’ll medicate her which isn’t perfect but certainly helps calm her down.

Sending y’all big SMILES!!

LUV FROM THE BUSH IN QUEBEC.

In a couple of hours I’ll be on my 6^th day of working my ‘part-time’ job. I’m booked for tomorrow too, so that will make it 7 days out of 9.  One of my work colleagues, a smart lady with dancing eyes, received a dreaded call that her mom had passed away. Especially sad because she had delayed her plans to visit her mom this spring when flights were again allowed, thinking this fall would be a better time. Too late now, and she’s feeling it. Her absence, plus another of our group who is off sick, will oblige the rest of us to pick up the slack, I imagine, but who would complain in such circumstances? Certainly not me – I can too easily remember how it was to lose my mom, and there is no way one can stand for hours behind a cash register if you are not feeling well. So there it is.

Have to run and prepare now. It seems to take me longer as time goes on. I’ll post this and hopefully be back in at day’s end to continue blogging. Until then, sending you out SMILES!!

LUV FROM THE BUSH IN QUEBEC.

Here I am again, finally. I can’t seem to keep up to everything. Here’s a little update:

• My son is feeling great, has been off the pain medication for 2 weeks. Like his mom, he does not do well with medication. He went back to get the staples out and through more tests, and the surgeon wants to see him on June 16^th. Then we will get the results of the surgery itself, including the biopsy they did on the tumor. Hopefully they can give a positive note for the liver too. In the meantime, he is enjoying the days not working by spending time with our Little Flea, who is quite content to have daddy around to spoil her.
• I was scheduled 6 days this week, which was a surprise. They are presently installing 4 electronic cashes, and things are a bit upside down in the store at the moment. Customers keep asking us if some will lose our jobs. We’re not sure. I’m the last one in, and because I am part-time, they do not need to give me any notice if they decide to cut down on staff. Time will tell.
• Obviously, reducing expenses right now is a must. What I get in salary for a week is equivalent to what I was making in a day and a half. The first step was to disconnect my residential phone. Most of the calls coming in on it are robot calls anyway, so off with it!! Just saved 60$/month, and many irritating moments of having to block out-of-space numbers from call centres. Cellular reception out here has improved immensely in the past year, so cellular is the only phone needed.
• The TV channels will be next to go. Only the news and sports will stay. Anything else we (rarely) want to watch can be cast from our laptops or cellular to the screen, so easily another 60$/month saved.

Like last year, Karen has been planting flowers and veggies. So many people are doing that now obliging seed companies to show ‘SOLD OUT’ on all their sites.  The cost of food is rising…rising…and it breaks my heart to see the elderly come into the store and purchase strict necessities, often telling me they eat one meal a day because they can’t afford any more than that. Their rent and/or mortgage payments have gone up, gas is costly, medication is also more expensive, as is electric power. Meanwhile those companies – grocery stores, pharmaceutical companies, power providers, banks – are posting outrageous profits.  GRRR….

I’ll get off my soapbox now, because I haven’t yet figured out how to fix any of this. There is no use spouting problems without offering solutions, is there?

That’s it for today, folks. In spite of it all, I’m still SMILING, and sending y’all a share to hopefully brighten up your day!!

LUV FROM THE BUSH IN QUEBEC.

We’re back on the grid! After 8 days the electric power came back on, then internet was restored late last night. With the high cost of gas at the moment, that darned outage cost me more than 300$ to feed the generator now and then to keep the fridges going or to fill up with water. I do have to say that if it was going to happen, the weather was ideal for it. Not too hot and not too cold, so no staying awake to stoke fires for warmth or lamenting the absence of fans to fight the heat.

We were luckier than many.  A huge tree came down on my property, but it fell just beside my storage shed without causing any real damage. Other people around us had trees falling onto their houses or cars, or tearing wires from their homes, blowing away gazebos and trampolines, some of them damaging their neighbours’ residences or automobiles as well. It wasn’t quite a tornado in this area, but the couple of hours with high, roaring winds and rain were close to it. My Dunany Demons were in a foul mood indeed!

My son’s surgery went well and he is home recuperating. He’ll only see the surgeon on June 7^th to get the verdict –where he will go from here. His wife is off work for 2 weeks, and she bought him a little bell to ring whenever he needs her help. She’s probably already regretting that purchase; he’s a terrible tease and could be summoning her just to ask her what she was doing. They were not in the storm sweep, so didn’t lose power for longer than an hour, for which we were all thankful.

I have a full day on the agenda – laundry piled up, fridges to clean, and anything needing to be washed after a week without hot water – so I’ll sign off with a SMILE, and will get back in a soon as possible to read fellow bloggers and to tell you more….

Sharing those SMILES with you as usual, folks, loaded with sunshine and easy summer living!

LUV FROM THE BUSH IN QUEBEC.

Me again.

Things have been happening and, unfortunately, I have found myself slipping into the old but frustrating routine of either working or sleeping…or attempting to sleep. The brain is sharper and the back’s endurance lasts longer when I do occasionally get a 6 to 8 hour night in; emphasis on the ‘occasionally’.

The best news is that my son is finally scheduled for surgery this coming Thursday. Because he has to be at the hospital for 6:30 AM, my Little Flea will sleep over here on Wednesday night. I’m working on Thursday, but my oldest grandson’s wife, who lives 10 minutes away, will stop to pick her up the next morning; their young lad (my great grandson) goes to the same school as Little Flea so it works out fine. Little Flea has been spending lots of time at my place, with Karen when I’m working, but it paid off. Her mommy had no problem getting her banked hours off and will be there for her hubby during his recuperation period.

My rash is still there, and spreading. I believe the doc made a misdiagnosis, because I haven’t washed the uniform with anything else, and wear clothing between it and my skin since I saw her. At least the medication the pharmacist gave me has kept it from itching, and I don’t tend to roam around in shorts or tank tops anymore, so the sight of it can’t bother others. I intend to stop in and talk to the pharmacist again to see if she has any suggestions while waiting a month for my personal doctor’s appointment.

Karen is in full gardening mode, if she’s not beast/bird or Little Flea sitting because of my work. Lord love the girl – we are all lucky to have her here. Pistache is still not receptive, attempting to bite her each time she approaches, but we do know it takes parrots a long time to accept new humans. It’s amazing how that bird immediately took to Little Flea. Must be the magic in the child.

Weather is great at the moment, and the mask mandate was abolished (except for health services) as of this past Saturday. Today I’ll be discovering what my co-workers really look like, and vice versa. I already have seen a couple of the packers while they were picking up carts outside, and was surprised to see they both had moustaches.  It changes their looks; I’m not sure I would have recognized them without their masks if I had run into them elsewhere.

I need to leave for the grind soon, so send you all lots of SMILES to make up for the days of absence. I am doing 5 days this week (again) but hope that I’ll have time to comment in Blogit. I am in everyday reading the posts however – my daily addiction – and it’s great to know you are all doing ok!

LUV FROM THE BUSH IN QUEBEC

FROM MONDAY, MAY 2ND

Yesterday it was a sun filled day with a temperature of 17C, or 62F.  Beautiful! Except I spent from noon to 9 PM in a hospital waiting room, where not even a drink of water is allowed because masks are obligatory at ALL times. Any diabetic person there was told to go outside to eat or drink if needed. I didn’t dare go grab a breath of that wonderful fresh air for fear of losing my place in line; they call your name twice with a 30 second wait between the calls, then it’s ‘NEXT!’.

I consoled myself by thinking that I was better waiting than being in the back rooms where doctors present were working hard to stabilize a couple of patients brought in by ambulance.  Members of their families came rushing in, their expressions worried and in shock, all hurrying to the doors where an orderly waited to escort them into the intensive care unit. It made me want to slap the mouthy, impatient complainer who was upsetting us all with his constant and loud criticism of the hospital staff. He finally left, without treatment, at the 6 hour mark, and the unanimous sigh of relief could be felt throughout the crowd.

My turn came at 8 PM. The doctor was apologetic for the long wait, but I smiled and told her I was good – it wasn’t her fault – it happens – and please, what is this rash? It seems I could be allergic to the dye in the uniform required at work. She prescribed a strong cortisone treatment and a follow-up in 14 days, at which point I would see a dermatologist if not better. I need to wear something under the uniform to keep it from touching my skin, and to wash it separately. It will be a subject of conversation with my boss when I go to work later today – they are very particular about the uniform bit.

FRIDAY. MAY 6^TH. 1:30 AM

Sorry, folks – time got away from me. I’ve been applying the cortisone and taking the allergy medication but can’t see much of an improvement. True, I’ve been working every day except Wednesday, wearing a black sweater under the uniform, but….I still look like a dried up strawberry from my neck to my feet. UGH!

Wednesday saw us having a birthday supper here for another of my close friends. My Little Flea was with us, as well as her daddy. Karen made a Hazelnut cheesecake, we put a few candles on it, and savoured the creamy, delicious ‘belly enhancer’ which, after already chewing on steak and baked potatoes, left us heavy but relaxed. Nothing better than good food with great company.

The weather is awesome at the moment – sunny and around 20C, not too hot, not too cold, and everyone is SMILING!

Sending mine out to y’all!!

LUV FROM THE BUSH IN QUEBEC